Russellville High School students can check statewide standardized testing off their list of items to excel.

The Grade 11 Literacy Exam scores are the highest they have ever been, according to Director of Secondary Instruction Judy Pennington. The high school juniors scored 81 percent proficient or advanced, which is up from 74 percent the previous school year.

“It’s our biggest accomplishment so far,” Pennington said. “And since the 2007 records, it’s the best we’ve ever done. I was so excited.”

The Grade 11 Literacy Exam tests students under the Arkansas English Language Arts Curriculum Framework. Every 11th-grade student statewide is required to take the exam, which consists of multiple-choice questions, open-response questions and a writing component. The Arkansas Department of Education reported a student is required to have a score of proficient or advanced to be considered performing at an acceptable level.

Pennington said the Common Core State Standards, which the Russellville School District adopted last year, have exceeded the state’s standards and helped the students excel.

“It’s also because all of the other teachers have been focused on literature in their own concentrations,” Pennington said. “And the principal, Sheila Jacobs, is a really strong institutional leader.”